Category: Entertainment

About two years after its first release, ‘Closer’, the hit single by the EDM Duo Chainsmokers and Halsey has been diamond certified, which means at least 10 million units have sold of the song. ‘Closer’ is by far the biggest hit for both Chainsmokers and Halsey which arguably shot them to international fame.

‘Closer’ went viral back in 2016 summer and quickly made its way to the top of Hot 100 and remained the leading track far longer than anyone’s anticipation. ‘Closer’ then went on to dominate the all-genre singles listing for at least a dozen consecutive frames. Being in No.1 hits for so long, ‘Closer’ became one of the fourth longest-running No.1 hits in U.S. history, after tying with several blockbuster tracks.

The song proved lucky for both the artists as it contributed to one of their first Grammy nominations and racked up numerous other awards. Until recently, it was the longest-running No. 1 hit according to Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic songs chart before being passed by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey’s ‘The Middle’ a few months ago. It’s no wonder that the track kept racking up sales, streams as well as radio play ever since.

The big news was announced by both The Chainsmokers and Halsey on their official Instagram pages. They posed with their shiny, minted plaques and looked rightfully excited to have a highly-coveted diamond single under their names.

Before ‘Closer’ shot into fame, the chain smokers duohad several hit songs that featured in the top 10 hits, but this one song made them take a huge leap towards true stardom. Even for Halsey, a popular artist with a huge fandom and termed as a rising talent by the critics, ‘Closer’ proved to be the hit single that helped get her a big breakout and reach wider demographic.

Their debut album ‘Memories…Do Not Open’ has led the Top Dance/Electronic Albums listing for 31 weeks back to back in its first year of the release itself. This now stands as the fourth-most stints on the throne. In addition to being the top track in Top Dance/Electronic Albums tally, this album also opened as No. 1 on the Billboard 200, a rare feat for an electronic/dance record.

The Chainsmokers performed in the last week of July in both the Hollywood Palladium, partnering with Pepsi, and also at avenue in Atlantic City. At this latter concert, they unveiled their newest song, “Side Effects”. This song has an incredibly catchy beat to it that has been described as funky and disco-tinged. Following these concerts, The Chainsmokers, Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, sat down for an interview with Billboard.

During this interview, Drew Taggart shared that because they live in the greater Los Angeles area now they really had fun performing at the Hollywood Palladium. A lot of their friends were in attendance and had a great time. Alex Pall said that it was agreat contrast to playing in Las Vegaswhich they do just about every weekend. It gives them a chance to play to big crowds and smaller and more intimate ones as well.

Talking about “Side Effects”, Drew Taggart said that they have been creating slower and more mellow songs since the start of 2018. Given that it is summer they wanted to produce a song that was more upbeat and funky. He says that their songs always reflect what is going on in their lives. They were both dealing with some darker stuff earlier in the year which resulted in songs like “Sick Boy” and “You Owe Me”. Now that things are looking up they wanted to produce a much more positive song.

Alex Pall said in the interview that he sees the internet taking over people’s lives and most people have a love/hate relationship with it. That had been the theme of their latest songs for the most part. They’ve been pretty self-deprecating about the millennial generation while also having fun with it.

Since December 2013, The Chainsmokers have had a long list of international hits. This includes “Closer”, “Inside Out”, “All We Know”. They had a number of hits off their last album, “Memories…Do Not Open” and it has been at the top of the EDM chartsever since it was released. Among the biggest hits off this album was “Something Just Like This”.